


Heartbeat

by AngelicBee



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 13:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 11,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13009119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicBee/pseuds/AngelicBee
Summary: Avatar Aang's soulmate probably died 100 years before, but he can't help but feel she's closer than he thinks.





	1. Choose Wisely, Mr. Avatar

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work on Ao3! Let me know what you think :)

“Katara, I don’t need a maid,” the avatar insisted, following his waterbending teacher across his imposing living room. 

Katara whipped around with an incredulous face, holding up her finger which she had just wiped across the coffee table. “Aang, this is a layer of dust on my finger and I didn’t even get to the surface of the table!”

“I didn’t ask for such a big house,” he muttered, crossing his arms, suddenly noticing the cobwebs in every corner of the house. 

“You didn’t refuse it either,” Katara pointed out. “Now, you can’t keep up with cleaning, so either hire a maid or spend your entire time in Ba Sing Se cleaning this place.” 

Aang huffed, rolling his eyes. The twenty-year-old avatar was still trying to live out his lost childhood in his older female friend. Katara was more than happy to mother him. “Can you... Help me?” He asked. 

Katara smiled. “Of course I will, Sweetie. And who knows! Maybe we’ll find your soulmate among the candidates.” She winked at him.

“That doesn’t sound as romantic as you meeting Zuko…” Aang rubbed the back of his neck, not fond of the idea. 

“Not everyone can find out who their soulmate is in a crystal cavern! I was just a lucky one,” she sang, teasing him. “It does sound like the spirits to have a water tribe peasant to find out in such a romantic setting, yet the Avatar to find out through job interviews.” 

“Shouldn’t the fact that your soulmate is the Fire Lord be enough for the spirits?” He replied, annoyed. Whenever something big happened in her and Zuko’s relationship, the story of their meeting came up. Now that they were engaged, the crystal cavern was all she could talk about. 

“Meh,” she replied with a smirk on her face. “I mean, yours sounds important enough. She has a last name.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I’ll have a bunch of ladies ready for the interview by the end of the week.” 

Aang shook his head. “I don’t know, Katara. Does it really sound safe to leave a stranger with my stuff for an extended period of time?”

“You better choose wisely, Mr. Avatar.” Katara scrunched her nose before promptly sneezing. “OK, we seriously need to start cleaning though or else I won’t be able to sleep through the night. And neither will Zuko if I’m sneezing all night… since we’re engaged and we’ll be sleeping in the same bed and all.” 

“Yeah, yeah. You’re love life is great. I’ll clean, you go run around the city.” Aang ushered her out the door- Katara was one step away from talking about their sex life.


	2. Keep It Tidy

Toph was fucked. Sorry, she was completely screwed over. _Would that be any better for you, Mother?_

It only took the rich bitch an hour to toss her and her shit on the street. Not that there was a lot of that. Still, Toph hadn’t foreseen that this lady would get tired of her so soon and now she was on the streets again.

“Any job offerings up there?” Toph asked the person standing beside her, nodding her chin at the message board in front of them.

She could guess there was mostly likely a stare of uncertainty before she slowly said to her, “No, just a few wanted posters and a missing poster for a little girl with a big reward. Looks ten years old though… I hope she was found.”

“It’s eight years old and I doubt it,” Toph replied, sighing. She ran her fingers through her hair as she said, “Thanks though.”

“That’s sad.” There was another pause from the stranger before she asked slowly, “Wait, are you the girl?”

“Nope.” She hadn’t been that girl for a long time. “Even if I was, they wouldn’t bother giving you the reward after this long. Rich people: everything’s for show.” She turned her face towards the girl.

“Oh.”                                                                          

Toph grinned at her. “So it’s a good thing I can’t see any of it.”

The girl stuttered as she asked, “S-so you’re blind?”

“Yeah, toots. That’s what I meant when I said I can’t see any of it. I literally can’t see it. That’s why I was fired from my last job. Complimented the wrong piece of artwork.”

“Wait, you worked for her for, like, an extended period of time and she didn’t realize you’re blind?” She sounded incredulous. They always were.

Toph shrugged. “I’m an earthbender. I can see through vibrations in the earth.”

“Oh! I’ve heard of that! It’s like only some earthbenders can do it, like metal bending.”

She chucked. “No, that’s not right. Any earthbender can feel vibrations. Most are just too pigheaded.”

“And metal bending?”

“As far as I know only certain earthbenders can do it. I’m one of the few too.” She demonstrated her ability by curling the metal bracelet off her wrist.

“That’s so cool!” The girl laughed. Toph had originally planned on intimidating her or scaring her off, but instead found herself to be enjoying their conversation. “I’m assuming you’re a master then? Because I have a friend who needs some earthbending training and I’d be willing to hire you.”

It sounded short-term plus she didn’t feel like dealing with a snot-nosed brat. “Ah, I don’t know. I’m not sure I’d be the best teacher. Got anything else for me?”

“Um, how good are you at cleaning? I’ve got a big house that’s alone for long periods of time.”

Now that sounded good. “Your house?”

“No, it’s my friend’s. The same one as before. He’s constantly traveling the world and the house is just a place he stays in when he’s in town. You could stay there for free and all you need to do is keep it tidy. I’m not sure how good you are at spotting dust… but if you’re interested, I’d love to hire you.”

“Any pay?” Toph asked, just to see if she could push her luck. She’d take the job without pay because if it was a big house, there was going to be some furniture that could go missing without notice. Then again, that was how she got fired from her job before the last one.

“You’ll be paid anytime you’re willing to teach my friend earthbending.”

Toph nodded. “Alright. Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good deal.”

“Oh that’s just great! I can’t wait to tell Aang!”


	3. I'm Tafu

“OK, so she’s blind, but she can still see, got it?”

“What? No, I don’t got it!”

“Sokka, just don’t say anything that’s going to make her feel unwelcome.” Katara huffed, throwing her hands in the air.

“Why do I even have to make Aang’s _maid_ feel welcome?” Sokka groaned, leaning back against the couch.

Katara shrugged as she wiped down the coffee table with a rag. “I don’t know. I like her. I’d like to be friends with her.”

“Katara, when are you _ever_ going to see her? First off, Aang’s here- at most- one month out of the year and we’re here even less. Also, why are you cleaning the table when you are literally waiting for the maid to arrive?” Sokka rolled his eyes.

“OK, get this,” Katara threw the rag down and sat next to her brother, scooting in close to him. “I’m, like, 90% sure she comes from a rich family which is a 95% chance that she has a last name. So, she could _possibly_ be Aang’s soulmate.”

“Come on, Katara. You know Aang’s soulmate probably died a while ago. The girl you found lurking around the message boards is probably not his.” Then he asked, “Did you even ask her what her name is?”

Katara hesitated. “Shoot! No, I didn’t.”

“Katara! I ask the name of every woman I meet! And I’m already married to my soulmate!” He shoved his tattooed wrist in her face.

His sister shoved her wrist back in his. “I didn’t and I’m still getting married! The spirits will always make sure soulmates find each other! And I found a rich blind girl who just might be Aang’s!

“Um, hey.”

The siblings turned their attention to the doorway where the potential maid stood with a duffel bag on her shoulder.

“Oh, hi! I’m sorry, I never got your name.” Katara shot a look at Sokka.

“I’m Tafu.” She held out a hand to which Katara gladly shook. “By the way, yesterday was a joke. I’m not the girl on the poster. I don’t know what happened to her.”

“Oh,” Katara tried to hide her disappointment. The chances of this girl being Aang’s soulmate had decreased dramatically.

“I hope you’ll still hire me even though I’m not your friend’s soulmate. This house looks pretty cool.” Her bare feet shifted across the stone as she spoke.

Katara shook her head. “No! Absolutely, I’d love to hire you still. I’d actually like to get to know you. Uh, this is my brother, Sokka. Sokka, please get off the couch and meet Tafu.”

Sokka groaned as he forced himself to get off from Aang’s _very_ comfy couch. He held out his hand. “Your name’s definitely Tafu and not Suki?”

Katara hit his chest.

“Ow!”

The girl laughed. “It’s definitely not Suki.”


	4. A Good Judge of Character

It was kind of weird how close the girl she had met wanted to get with Toph. Most of her employers didn’t even know she was blind.

Of course, she gave Katara, as she learned her name was, her _own_ fake name: Tafu. It was close enough to her real name that she was able to get out of some sticky situations in the past, but different enough to keep her dad’s rich friends from realizing it was her while she worked for them.

Not that anyone would recognize her. Her parents didn’t tell anyone about her existence until she finally got fed up and ran away at age 12. They tried to get her back. It was a good thing she figured out metal bending at that time.

It was those stupid soul mate tattoos that finally convinced her to leave.

 _Is it one name or two?_   She could still remember her mother’s voice asking the servant. When it turned out to be only one name, her parents ordered the servants to get rid of it by any means necessary and replace it with a noble’s. There had been a preexisting agreement with another noble family apparently where if she and the other family’s son weren’t destined to be with nobles, then they would be arranged to one day be married. It was a common practice. Toph never found out who was on the boy’s wrist. She didn’t stay long enough to find out.

Soulmates were the very reason her life had been ruined. That’s why she kept her bracelet over the tattoo. She had never known the name on her wrist and never would if she always kept it covered. Her life could be stress-free.

That is if that blabbermouth Katara would ever shut up about her own soulmate.

“You know Tafu, I think you’d like Zuko. I just get the feeling you guys would get along.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” Toph replied dryly. She wanted this group of people to get out of here. Or for her to at least meet the rich kid who was too lazy to earthbend so she could earn some pocket money.

“There he is!” Toph felt Katara jump from the couch and run to hug an approaching figure. “Tafu, this Zuko, my fiancée.”

Toph lifted her hand. “Hey.”

A snort come from Sokka’s direction. “It’s so weird not seeing someone jump up when they see the Fire Lord.”

 _The fire lord?_ What was Toph getting herself into? Who were these people?  “Oh, well, uh, nice to meet you, your majesty?” She still didn’t bother to get up off the couch.

 _“She’s blind,”_ Katara whispered into Zuko’s ear. Toph wasn’t sure if her hearing was stronger than others or if people were just stupid because whenever someone whispered, she could still hear it. “Zuko, this is Tafu, the girl I was talking about who’s going to take care of Aang’s house.”

Zuko bowed to her. “Katara likes you a lot, Tafu. She hasn’t stopped talking about it.” Toph hoped there was an eye roll accompanied with that- because then she’d like this guy a whole lot more. There was a _thwump_ quickly followed by an “Ow!” from Zuko.

“Katara!” Another male voice echoed throughout the house. Toph hoped to whatever gods there were that this was the kid.

“Aang!” Katara yelled, waving him over. Toph couldn’t feel any footsteps until he stood next to Katara and she could feel his heartbeat. “I found her!”

There was a pause as he took his left hand out of his pocket. “You found… her?”

“No!” Katara laughed. “ _I think_ ,” she whispered to him. “I found you a maid.”

“I thought you were going to find a couple and I was going to get to choose. You made a big point about how I need to be a good judge of character.”

Katara shrugged. “I decided to do it for you.”

The guy settled and came walking towards her (once again, she had to concentrate to even realize he was moving). “Hi, I’m Aang.” He held out his hand.

Toph nodded, shaking his hand. “Tafu.” He didn’t seem like too much of a crybaby, but, then again, it seemed liked Katara was taking care of him most of the time. “So, you’re an earthbender? I can tell why you’re having difficulty. You can’t seem to even keep your feet on the ground.”

He laughed before realizing she wasn’t telling a joke. “Oh, sorry. Um, I’m an airbender.”

Toph moved to face Katara. “Is this some kind of practical joke?”

“She’s blind, Aang,” Sokka said from the couch. “Tafu, Aang’s the avatar. But no matter what teacher we get him, he sucks worse at earthbending than he did at firebending.”


	5. Everyone Knows Who The Avatar Is

“Listen, just so you know, Mr. Avatar, Katara promised me this deal could be just cleaning. I’m only going to teach you earthbending if I’m feeling it.” The girl didn’t seem surprised in any way that he was the Avatar. She didn’t react to Sokka’s comment with much more than an eyebrow raise. Aang, on the other hand, wasn’t sure how to react to the fact that Katara hired him a blind earthbender as his maid.

“Um, y-yeah. OK.” Aang shuffled nervously, throwing his hands back into his pockets. “I guess I should… show you around? Sorry, I don’t know how this works.”

“I can see it just fine, but thanks. And I can figure out what needs wiped down and what needs swept. I’ve done it before.”

Aang looked at Katara for help, who just shrugged, partially hiding behind Zuko. “Um, well, alright. Feel free to walk around for the day then. You can have any bedroom that doesn’t have people’s stuff in it. Just let me know if you have any questions before I leave.”

“Sounds great.” She held a thumbs up with her left hand. Aang looked at her wrist, like everyone else in the room. Much to their disappointment, she had it covered with a bracelet. Tafu rolled her eyes before telling them, “I’m just going to start walking around.”

Once she had turned and walked away, Katara bounced eagerly over to Aang and asked him, “ _So_ , what do you think?”

“Of what?”

“Of Tafu! I think I picked out a pretty good one for you, huh?” Katara nudged him.

Aang looked down at his wrist. “Yeah, I guess. I was just really hoping you had managed to find _her_. It’s like the longer time goes on, the more I believe she’s nowhere out there.”

The three in the room who _had_ found their soulmates looked upon the airbender in sympathy.

“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun in life, Aang! I mean, come on, everyone knows who the Avatar is. _She_ knows that you both are destined to be together.” Katara rubbed his shoulders. “And if you never find each other, you can still find true love in someone else.”

The avatar shrugged, walking away from her. “I guess you’re right. It’s just a little bit of a bummer. The nomads never went searching for their soulmates, but now that I finally have the chance to… I’m never going to find her.” His fingers traced the kanji of her name. “I just hope Toph is looking for me.”


	6. A Huge Mess Just Waiting To Happen

The only room Toph had been able to find that had stone floors was small enough that it was probably designated for servants. She didn’t mind it; Toph didn’t have enough stuff to fill up the room anyway. She tossed her duffel bag onto the bed and started taking out her few personal items.

Clothes she had received as donations from her past employers once she had started to grow out of the one she had taken from home, a letter from her mother that a stranger at a bar read to her, and an assortment of metal jewelry that she sold as a side job. _I guess I don’t need to train this kid_ , she reminded herself as she rubbed the metal between her fingers, unintentionally bending it. _But I’m sure I’ll get a lot more cash with the size of this house._

_The Avatar?_ That sounded like a huge mess just waiting to happen. Plus, they were so accepting of her there was no doubt she was going to be able to stay as long as she wanted. Toph had never really had that option before. She wasn’t sure she wanted that option.

Toph flung her head back and groaned. Why couldn’t there have just been a poster up for a dishwasher or a freaking monkey-dog walker?

After they left, she’d probably steal some shit and leave too. She couldn’t risk getting too close to these guys.


	7. Silence

“Hey! We were about to have some dinner and I was wondering if you wanted to join us!” Katara knocked on the door.

There was no answer. Katara’s heart began to beat faster. She really liked something about this girl, so the silence scared her. Slowly, the waterbender pushed the door open.

Tafu was asleep on the bed, face down into the pillow, but the obnoxious snoring was clear that she was fine. Her hair was beginning to sneak out of its bun.

Katara contemplated leaving a note before realizing there wasn’t a point. Perhaps she would get the chance to spend time with her the next day.


	8. A Woman Like Her

Tafu was a bit intimidating. Aang was able to see that even with the few words of conversation they had. Frankly, he was glad he would only be there for a few more days. There was no way a woman like her could be his soulmate anyway.

He’d always pictured Toph to be a bit more delicate. Caring, compassionate- that’d truly be his dream soulmate. Someone akin to Katara. When he first saw Katara’s face when he came out of the iceberg, his first thought was of love.

But he learned quickly he loved her like a mother or an older sister. And he was glad she and Zuko found happiness after the war. To an extent. There was a weird feeling in his chest when he saw them together sometimes.

Aang had always thought his soulmate would be more like him. Not the direct opposite. He wasn’t looking for more of a challenge in life- Avatar duties were plenty.

“You know what they say,” Zuko’s deep voice perked the boy from his reverie. “Opposites attract.”

Aang shrugged, leaning his head back against his seat. “Zuko do you really picture me with a girl as _brutish_ as her?”

“I’m just saying Katara has an intuition about these things. She gave me a second chance when I definitely didn’t deserve it.”

“Sure, but _I_ gave you the third and fourth chance after you screwed us over and over again.” Aang rubbed his face.

“And if Katara hadn’t given me the original chance would you have ever seen the good in me?”

Aang sat up. “So, you’re saying, this girl, who is not my soulmate, but just some homeless blind earthbender could have some good in her? What am I supposed to do with that?”

There was a beat before Zuko scoffed and said, “You’re not going to get anywhere in life if you’re stubborn like that.”

“I’m just saying there are _a lot_ of people in the world. Just because Katara found the creator of metal bending- if that’s even true- doesn’t mean she’s my soulmate.”

“Always a hopeless romantic.” Zuko smiled. “I don’t know.  A little companionship wouldn’t be bad for you, Aang. Just get to know her.”

“If she lets me.”


	9. Can You Play?

“Crap, they’re still here.” Toph tensed up her back as she tried to speed walk past the front of the house, in hopes she could reach the window to her room before they saw her.

“Um, hey! Tafu!” Katara’s voice shattered her chances at an evening of solitude. “You’ve been gone all day?”

Toph turned towards Katara’s voice. “Oh, yeah. I just… had some business to take care of.”

“Why don’t you come over here and join us?” Katara suggested.

Toph couldn’t find an passable excuse within a few seconds, so she sighed and trudged over there. “Sure.” Her absence might mean she had to regain their trust now, so she might as well suffer for an hour for it. 

Upon getting closer, Toph was able to make out who was hanging out in the front yard. Katara, her brother, and her fiancée were tossing some rings towards a stake in the ground. Toph was fairly certain the _Avatar_ wasn’t anywhere nearby, even with his odd footfall.

“Can you play?” Sokka asked, holding out the metal ring to her.

Toph took it from him, throwing the ring immediately to prove a point. Toph misjudged her throw however and she slid her foot to the right to fix it before it landed. 

“Hey, you cheated! She obviously bent the ring!”

Katara laughed. “She bends metal. What did you expect to happen?”

“I expected her to not cheat,” he grumbled.

Toph smirked a bit; she wasn’t too familiar with these sibling interactions- or really friendly interactions- but it sparked joy in her before she could stop it.

“What have you been up to all day?” Katara asked, directing her attention back to the maid she hired.

Toph scratched her head. “Ah, well… I was trying to scrounge up some money if I’m honest. I sell jewelry as a side job.” Toph stopped talking, afraid she was giving away too much about herself. “I’ll chill here though if you don’t want me to leave, Ma’am.”

Katara flinched and Zuko scoffed. “Don’t call me Ma’am, please. It’s just Katara. We’re friends.”

Toph grit her teeth. “Right.” She didn't want to be friends. She wanted to be treated like dirt by these rich people so she could steal their stuff and become rich herself. Or somewhere close to rich. 

“And you know, we’re more than happy to pay you if you teach Aang some earthbending.”

“ _Aang_ is more than happy to pay you. I’m not paying anything.” Zuko interrupted. Katara hit his chest. 

She coughed as though she were trying to mask the noise.

"What? The colonies are reconstructing and my funds aren't endless."

With mirth, Katara said, “Yes, Zuzu, I know. Anyway, Tafu, it’d be _really_ cool to watch you guys before we leave tomorrow morning! Please, just one lesson?”

Toph was intrigued by that news. They were going to leave the next day? And they were ready to give her a bunch of money for, what, half an hour of throwing some rocks at this kid? Why not.

“OK. Sure.” Toph shrugged.

“That’s great!” Aang’s voice came out of nowhere as he landed on the ground next to her.

Toph, not ready for him, reacted quickly and dug her foot into the ground. “Shit!”

The rock split, knocking everyone except Toph and Aang off their feet. A few other curses resounded from the warriors who fell. Aang jumped into the air, landing softly again rather than falling on his butt.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to surprise you.” Aang bent down to help Sokka off the ground.

Toph rubbed her temples. “It’s fine. I’m just going to have to get use to that.”

“So where do you wanna go to practice?” A child-like excitement emitted from the man.

She cooled down before thinking for a moment. “The backyard should be big enough.”


	10. Push It

“So do you all want to watch?” Toph yelled from the other side of the yard to the group waiting patiently by the house.

The earthbender didn’t wait for an answer before assuming stance, legs spread and arms close to her body. Her foot moved smoothly across the grass as the earth beneath them rumbled. Once she had loosened it, Toph brought her first down, forcing the area back down into the earth, revealing a giant rocky arena. Just for show, Toph bent a stand into the side of arena. It was large enough for at least a hundred spectators, but only three would be sitting in them.

Toph dropped down, creating a tiny crater with her knee. She gripped the earth wall and pulled a boulder out, throwing it across the arena. A few small boulders followed that one; she needed plenty of toys to play with.

“This is amazing,” Aang said from above her. He must have landed on the boulder she threw.

“I’m a little rusty if I’m honest.” She smirked, placing a hand at her hip. “What do you know, Twinkletoes?”

The airbender dropped down, she felt the tap of a staff in his hand. He had been carrying it around for a while. “I can push a couple of rocks if I’m lucky. I’m not too strong.”

“The strength comes with the bending. The bending doesn’t come with the strength.” She flexed her own biceps to show off. Aang's body posture told her that he was impressed, and a bit intimidated, which was exactly how Toph wanted everyone to treat her. But she wasn't too sure how a teacher should be treated. 

Toph wasn’t too good at teaching. Heck, she never even finished school, so she wasn’t too sure where to start with this kid’s lessons. And she never respected her teacher either. They often thought they knew more than her when she had surpassed them by years- well, when it came to bending. She just didn't care about general studies. 

She kicked a ball-shaped stone up into the air with her toe.

“What do you do if I do this?” She slammed her foot into the rock, aiming directly for the bender.

His presence disappeared from her sight for a moment as she heard the rock crash into the boulder that was behind him. He floated back down to earth.

“OK. Let’s try again. This time, don’t avoid it. You have to fight it. Break it.” Toph kicked another ball from the ground, this time she aimed a bit higher on him so his hands could have a chance at it.

The stone landed on the ground in half, which satisfied Toph for only a moment before she realized Aang never made contact with the rock. A sprinkle of water hit her in the face.

“What did you do?” She asked, though the movement by the fountain nearby gave her a clue. 

“I cut it in half. With waterbending,” Aang told her.

“OK, dunderhead, if this was waterbending training, you’d get an A+. But you’re supposed to be learning how to earthbend.” Toph rolled her eyes and folded her arms together. “Let’s try something a little simpler. Move that boulder behind you.”

Aang turned around. It almost doubled his height.  “That thing? It’s got to weigh a ton.”

“The strength comes with the bending. If you bend it, it makes it a lot easier to move than just pushing it.” Toph walked towards him to view her art up close. 

Her student dropped his staff, landing on the ground with a _clank_. Wooden, she realized.

Toph watched as his back and arm muscles tensed up, getting ready to push with all his might against the rock, but his feet weren’t getting ready to bend. The earthbender grabbed his staff from the ground and wacked at his feet.

“Ow!”

“What is that stance? You’re trying to tell me you’ve mastered three elements and you don’t even know how to stand when you bend?”

“Stance is different depending on what you’re trying to bend,” Aang muttered.

“What was that?” She wacked at his feet again. “Are you trying to talk back to the master? I don’t see you pushing that boulder yet.”

Aang’s initial excitement had partially vanished. He had now become frustrated. Good. He needed to channel that into his bending. “Fine. How do I stand?”

Toph smiled in triumph. “Feet apart, planted firmly on the ground. You’re going to use those to bend too. I don’t know how it works in other elements, but your feet are going to be bending just as much as your hands in earthbending.” She hit the inside of his knees to push them out more. “Keep your knees out so you can move them better. And keep your hands close to you.”

“Alright. How’s this?” His stance was fine, but she doubted he could keep it as he bent.

“Good enough. Alright, go ahead. Try and bend the boulder. Push it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everyone reading! I just wanted to address the issue that some people have been complaining about: the short chapters. For me to keep interest in the story, I've just been writing whatever can come out. I make a new chapter anytime the scene changes or there's a time skip, but I post two chapters every time I post. There will be longer chapters as it gets further into the plot. I hope you continue to enjoy!


	11. His Uncontentious Nature

The sun was setting, the boulder hadn’t moved an inch, and Aang was sweating buckets. Tafu was not a nice teacher and the stinging red marks on Aang’s skin was proof of it.

“Tafu, I think I’m going to have to end it for the day.”

“Giving up? You haven’t bent anything today.”

“Well, I mean, I learned more about the stance and how it works.”

Tafu rolled her eyes, her hand tightening around his staff. “That’s just bullpig crap to make up for the fact that you couldn’t do it.”

A bit of agitation slipped out of the avatar as he said, “I’ve grown up airbending. It’s the complete opposite of earthbending. It’s dodging and being gentle and…  having fun.”

“How is that my problem? I’m here to teach you earthbending, not console you for your monks raising you to be a wuss. And earthbending can be fun if you can do it.” Tafu tossed the staff from one hand to another, almost taunting him.

Aang reached out for it. “I’ll just have to try again the next time I come here. For now, that’s all we can do.”

“Fine.” Tafu turned around and began to walk back towards the house, still holding his staff.

The airbender sighed and jogged to catch up with her. “I need my staff back.”

She stopped. “This? I was thinking I could keep it with me while you were gone. Provide some encouragement, huh?” She was having too much fun with this; Aang could see amusement shining in her eyes and the small lift at the corner of her lip. “What does this even do? It’s just a stick.”

Aang reached out and pressed the button on it, the orange wings swinging out. “It’s not a stick. It’s a glider. I can fly with it by bending the air underneath it.”

“And it seems I’ll be able to dust with it.” She rubbed the wings’ material between her fingertips. “Sorry, bucko. Looks like you’re going to either have to learn to fly without it or move that boulder.”

The avatar grimaced, pressing his lips together. He didn’t really want to have to go who-knows-how-long without his staff, but this girl was being very kind, trying to teach him how to earthbend while also cleaning his house while he was gone. And sure, it was probably for the money, but it was a big responsibility.

“OK,” he consented. It was probably his uncontentious nature that ruled his decision over anything else.

Tafu turned back. “Really?” She laughed. “Alright. A deal’s a deal.” She held out her left hand, the one with the metal bracelet stuck to her, covering her soulmate’s name.

Aang shook it. "A deal's a deal." 


	12. If You Shortened Tafu's Name

“I don’t know, Aang,” Katara sighed. “It seems kind of mean to keep your staff.”

“It’s her teaching method, ‘Tara,” Zuko interjected, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s just see how it works out.”

“I don’t like it. Maybe I’m changing my mind about her.”

“No.” Aang agreed with Zuko. “I think she’s taking it seriously. I did as you said, Katara, and I did as you said, Zuko. And I successfully mastered waterbending and firebending, right?”

Zuko shrugged. “Not quite a master, but, yeah, you’re doing really well.”

“You know what I mean. My point is, every element works differently. Only a person who bends can understand it. If it’s still not working over quite some time, we’ll find someone else. But I’m going to give Tafu a chance.”

Sokka piped up from the couch. “Ya know, if you shortened Tafu’s name, it’d be Toph.”

Aang threw his bag at Sokka, hitting him in the stomach. So much for uncontentious. “I’m going to go get Appa.”

“I’ll go with you,” Zuko volunteered, eager to get away from the rowdy Water Tribe siblings.


	13. Homesick

That night, Aang found himself unable to sleep. His legs ached in a way he wasn’t use to and he couldn’t seem to get the smell of dirt out of his skin after that training session. With a sigh, Aang opened his eyes to the dark ceiling above him.

He wondered how Tafu saw. He couldn’t imagine being blind. Aang could hardly move a rock with his own strength, yet this girl was using her earthbending to- _to see_.

It was impressive, that was true. Kind of amazing. There was good amount of hidden strength in her; he was sure there was far more than even the show she had put on today. It almost made her body look delicate compared to the boulders she was hurling.

Aang sat up with a start. He needed to sleep somewhere else tonight. The feather-filled mattresses just didn’t feel like home.

Upon feeling the cool breeze wafting throughout the house, Aang grabbed his robe. Nobody probably wanted to see him walking around in his underwear anyway.

Subconsciously, Aang rubbed Toph’s kanji. He remembered that day. Aang only had a vague idea of when his birthday was before his twelfth; the air nomads didn’t celebrate birthdays. His birthday was the very end of fall, approaching winter. Most nomads had their birthday in the fall.

During the beginning of fall, per tradition, all nomads wrapped the wrists of any boys turning twelve because air benders didn’t search for their soulmates. Air nomads didn’t really do a lot of things that the rest of the world did. It was something about being in tune with yourself and the spirits around you. When you mastered airbending, you were allowed to take the band off because it was assumed you were mature enough to understand the life of the nomads was your soulmate, not who was on your wrist. Of course, Aang mastered airbending almost immediately after turning 12, so he daydreamed about whoever _Toph_ was rather than focusing on his Avatar studies. None of the other boys ever got to read the names on their wrists. 

Aang found himself homesick.

Then he found himself outside the servant’s quarters.

“Well, this isn’t the stables,” he muttered to himself. Aang was about to turn around to go find Appa when his left hand grabbed the door knob, pushing gently.

Aang felt like a creep, peeking in on her as she slept, but he also knew he wasn’t entirely controlling his actions at this moment.

She was sleeping without the blanket. It had landed on the floor so all she had to warm herself was the thin tank top she was wearing and a piece of cotton that acted as shorts. Aang blushed, averting his eyes to her face.

There she was again: looking tiny and delicate. Her physical presence seemed to act as a oxymoron.

Aang sighed before taking the few steps in to grab her blanket and drape it over her. She immediately reacted, snuggling into the warmth and letting out a breath of relief.

How cute.

Aang stumbled back a step- surprised at his own thought-, knocking into the wall and into his staff. He grabbed it just in time before it clattered into the floor and woke everybody in a 100-feet radius.

He looked over at Toph and she seemed to still sound asleep, so he breathed a sigh of relief. The airbender gripped his staff, realizing he had the chance to take it, for a moment before laying it back on the wall. He’d earn it back soon enough.


	14. What's an Appa?

Toph held still as Twinkletoes floated into her room. What was he: some kind of perv? Toph had dealt with enough of those in her life; always thinking that because she was blind she had no idea. The best thing to do in those situations was not to interact with them unless they tried to touch you. Otherwise _you_ end up looking like the bad guy.

But he didn’t try touching her. He waited only a moment before grabbing her blanket- which she had accidentally threw off right before he opened her door- and laying it on her. She decided to play the sleeping beauty and wrap the newfound warmth around herself.

Aang unexpectedly stumbled. She couldn’t see anything that he would trip over, but it was kind of hard to see through the mattress anyway. He grabbed his staff and she inwardly rolled her eyes, expecting him to take it and go back on their deal.

But, again, he didn’t. He carefully placed it back and began to walk out of the room. So why the hell did walk into her room? 

“What are you doing in here?” She asked him, sitting up. It was going to kill her if she didn't find out. 

He froze before turning around with a new sheepish posture. “I’m sorry. I didn’t- I’m sorry. I, uh, don’t know what I’m doing here. I was just going to the stables to sleep with Appa and I made a wrong turn and now I’m here and I’m sorry.” His hand rubbed the back of his head.

“What?” What the hell was this guy jabbering on about?

“I wasn’t trying to be inappropriate, I swear. I was just feeling homesick-”

“No, what’s an Appa?”                                                         

He paused. “Oh. It’s my flying bison.”

Toph snorted. “I swear this place is making me feel like I’m losing my mind.” She set her feet on the ground before flopping backwards onto the bed. “First an airbender- sorry, _the avatar_ \- then the Fire Lord and a flying bison. I’m going to wake up from this dream and find myself stuck in that mansion again." She rubbed her face as though she was trying to wake herself up.

Aang stared down at his feet, a small smile on his face. “So you couldn’t sleep either I take it?”

She dropped her arms. “Well, I was close until a man I hardly knew walked into my room and I suddenly had the urge to stay aware.”

He blushed. “I truly apologize. I don’t know what came over me. I understand it was not-”

“Oh, be quiet, Twinkletoes. You didn’t do anything so I don’t care.”

There was a lapse in conversation until Aang asked, “Would you like to come meet Appa?”

Toph thought for a moment before shrugging and sitting up. “Well, I’m as awake as I can be right now, so I might as well.”


	15. A Little High On Adrenaline

_Whoa, he’s huge_.

Toph didn’t quite realize this large lump was an animal until Aang set his hand on it and began to scratch it.

Toph took a step back as Appa raised his head in greeting. “Wow… I don’t really know what I was expecting.”

Aang laughed, rubbing the animal’s chin. The beast yawned and flipped onto its side, sending a spray of hay towards her and making her sneeze.

The airbender laughed. “Bless you.”

Toph rubbed her noise. “Thanks,” she said dryly. She made sure to stand a good twenty feet away from the beast.

Aang noticed her hesitation and held a hand out to her. “Come closer. He doesn’t bite. These giant teeth are for grinding up veggies, not bones.”

“Wow! That’s comforting!” Toph scoffed, but she let him take her hand and guide her closer to the monster.

“Do you want to know about him?” Aang asked, putting her hand on top of his fur.

Toph gently kneaded her fingers in the thick hair. She wasn’t quite sure, but Appa might have been one of the first animals she had interacted with (aside from a time when she ran away when she was younger). Rich people didn’t like when things got dirty.“What’s to know? He seems like he’s just a big lug.”

That made him laugh, earning a small smile from Toph too. “He is. His name is Appa; it means father. He’s a flying bison.”

The earthbender decided pass over the joke she could make about his pet's name and instead began to move down his body, feeling his legs and reaching as high as she could to see how tall he was. She couldn’t reach the top. “Where are his wings?” She asked, feeling a bit dumb.

“No wings. He airbends and uses his tail to keep him up in the air. It’s an amazing view,” he told her.

“I’d love to see that someday.”

“I can take you whenever you want.”

Toph turned towards him, attempting to focus her eyes at him and make a point.

“Oh. Right. You were joking.”

The corners of her mouth upturned. “Yeah, numbskull. I was joking.”

Aang began to climb up the side of the beast as he spoke. “Sorry, it’s just hard to remember you’re blind sometimes. You don’t act like every other blind person I’ve met.”

Toph took a step back, angling her head up as though she were watching him. “That’s alright. I don’t want to be treated like every other blind person you’ve met. As long as you don’t make fun of it, we’ll be on good terms.”

“Do you want to join me up here?” He asked her, bending over the side of the saddle to offer her a hand.

“Is there anything interesting up there?”

“Not particularly, but it might be better than down there.”

Toph shifted her feet on the ground, reluctant to let go. But, she was sleep deprived and maybe a little high on adrenaline, so she took his hand and let him pull her up.

“Wow, I sure can’t see much,” Toph said, falling onto her back in the saddle. “This is _definitely_ better.”

Aang smiled, sitting down next to her. They were quiet for a while before he got the courage to ask her, “How do you see?”

She sighed. “I really didn’t think it was that hard of a concept, but the thing with being blind is _you can’t see_. There’s nothing in front of these.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “I would take them out of my body and it would make no difference aside from the pain.”

Aang blushed. “That’s not what I meant. You can see. Just differently. How does it work?”

Toph paused, sitting up. She had thought Katara would have told him already. “It’s Seismic sense. Echolocation in a way. The vibrations in the Earth tell me where everything is. I can, to an extent, see on Appa too, but it’s harder because I’m seeing through all the bits and pieces of Earth that exist in or on his body. It’s not as concrete as just feeling vibrations in the Earth and being able to tell what’s moving and what’s putting pressure to know where everything is.”

“How did you know?” He asked immediately. “That had to have taken so much time to learn, but who taught you?”

Toph hummed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “Actually, the original Earthbenders. Badgermoles. The first time I ran away from home, I stumbled upon some and I just followed them around and did what they did because they were blind earthbenders like me. And the next thing I knew, I could concentrate and be able to tell if there was another badgermole coming or not. My parents found me soon after, but I spent so long trying to get that feeling back and when I did, I never stopped. I can’t just close my eyes without taking my feet off the ground.”

He searched her face silently, looking for more of her _real_ emotions. “Is it scary?”

She turned her head towards him. “What?”

“When you take your feet off the ground and you can’t see anymore. Is it scary?”

She shrugged, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them. “I mean, I guess... Listen, man, I don’t know you that well. And I’m really not the type of girl that gets into deep discussions in the middle of the night.”

Aang chuckled. “But that’s what you’re doing right now.”

Toph rolled her eyes. “And I’m uncomfortable, so just drop it.”

Aang’s smile fell. “Right. Sorry.”

There was a silence before Toph shook her head. “I should head to bed. Goodnight, Aang. I’ll see you off tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Tafu.”


	16. Okay. Goodbye.

“Bye, Tafu!” Katara said from above her, somewhere on the beast she had met the night before. A “Bye!” quickly followed from the others. Toph lifted the staff in her hand in response, kind of anxious to have these people out of here.

“So you’re really not going to give that back?” Aang asked, suddenly beside her. Toph jumped and managed to stop herself last second from attacking him (though she wasn’t sure if the blow would have landed). “Sorry,” he said with a bit of the laugh at the end.

Toph rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m definitely hanging onto this. The material is great for collecting dust _and_ the wood is solid so I can crack nut shells.”

Aang noticeably cringed enough for even Toph to tell, bringing a smirk to her face. “Alright, sure. Um, I’ll probably be back in a week or so. I’m just dropping them off and then heading back for a diplomatic meeting.”

“Whatever.” She shrugged, entirely unsure if she would still be here or if she would have run off with the money from selling the Avatar’s staff.

He stood beside her for a little bit longer, but said nothing more than, “Okay. Goodbye.”

Toph didn’t reply, angling her head to the ground so her bangs fell over her face and no one could see her blank face.

There was some conversation above her that she didn’t pay attention to before the beast lifted off the ground. Toph waited for the humongous weight to fall back down to the Earth with a huge thud, but nothing came.

She sighed and turned away from the yard. She had a week to herself.


	17. Toph's Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Taanglover for commenting so it reminded me to post haha!

The week went by far quickly than Toph expected it to. To be fair, Toph wasn’t very good at keeping track of the days, especially considering it wasn’t like Toph had a calendar to wake up to every morning. Aang had left a little bag of coins on her nightstand in her room thanks to their Earthbending session and she was quite happy to find after seeing them off. She went to the market with it and bought plenty of food, probably more than she needed for the week, and some clothes that the vendor had called “neutral colors,” so she felt safe it could go with anything else she had wore.

When it came down to it though, Toph still had a good bit of the coins left in her bag. She just wasn’t that materialistic. There wasn’t much she wanted.

With no employer constantly living in the house, Toph found herself bored. She didn’t have to spend the majority of the day actually cleaning or assisting or just pretending she knew what sight was.

The backyard was wonderful. There was so much space to practice earthbending, something she hadn’t got to do in a long time. It was exhilarating throwing rocks around in her makeshift arena and pretending to battle foes she had bent into reality. She felt like a child pretending and playing again... and it was a lot of fun.

Then, by the day’s end she could relax in the master bathroom. There was a hot bath constantly waiting for her where she could rinse off the dirt and grime of the day. Her 12-year-old self would hate that, but her 20-year-old self knew the joy of clean skin.

And her evenings were just making dinner and dusting and sweeping whenever she felt an area needed the cleaning. She didn’t spend a long time bothering with it, but she figured she might as well do some of the job she was hired to do. It seemed she had a bit of a conscience. 

There was one night where she decided to switch things up and head to bed in the master bedroom. She lounged back in the obscenely large bed and wondered if the smell in the pillows was Aang’s scent. She fell asleep quite easily that night, but decided she would stick to her servant’s quarters from then on.

It wasn’t long before the week was over.


	18. Replace Toph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will be a year old in a week and nothing exciting is happened yet lmao. I do actually have ideas to get the ball rolling and here's hoping I'll post for the anniversary!

When Aang was younger, he was known to be a particularly loud mouth kid. Even with his Avatar duties and defeating the Fire Lord on the horizon, he was always ready for a moment to joke around with someone. As he grew up, he was able to mature and had quieted down. His moments to think had branched out from just when he meditated. He had to consider all the important decisions people liked to put on his shoulders, so it was probably a change for the best.

Still, his friends noticed his quietness on the ride away from Ba Sing Se. There was a lot to think about. Well, there was Tafu. And maybe his upcoming meeting. But there was a lot encompassing those two things. He was lucky he had a bit of a reason to not speak much with his friends what with his having to sit at the head and they in the saddle.

Why had Tafu become uncomfortable with him so quickly? Perhaps the start of their meeting that night had caused it. After all, Aang was really just trying to get to know her better. He didn’t like the idea of just treating her like a servant. He preferred her his friend who he just happened to pay for cleaning the house and teaching him earthbending.

Life might have been easier if Katara had just chosen a regular maid or at least a friendlier person to bring into his house. He could fire Tafu and look for someone else, but that sort of thing made him feel guilty. Thus far, she had not really done anything to warrant firing. She just didn’t want to be his friend.

He thought they could get along well, for those few seconds she had let her guard down. She had such an interesting point of view of life and he wanted to know more about it. The Avatar part of him _should_ know more about it.

It almost made him laugh that someone in the world didn’t want to get closer to the Avatar, either in admiration or in anger.

“Why are you laughing?” Katara asked, leaning over the side of the saddle.

Aang turned back towards her. “Was I? I didn’t realize.” He smiled at her before turning back to the front.

“I saw you guys last night in the stable,” Katara said, making Aang turn back to her again. “I got up to get a drink of water and I noticed a light and who did I see but you helping Tafu up this big guy?” She patted the side of Appa, making the beast groan.

Aang shrugged. “I wanted to try and get to know her better... but she got upset when I tried.”

Katara hummed. “So does that mean you like her?”

“Yeah, I _like_ her. She’s nice enough to clean up the house, I guess.” He shrugged again. “I don’t really know her personally, Katara. I can’t tell you if I’m willing to replace Toph with her at this moment.”

The waterbender rolled her eyes and hopped over the saddle to sit beside him. “It’s not replacing. I mean, don’t you think if Toph was really out there she’d come looking for you?”

“I think the spirits will have her come find me no matter what. There were air nomads who found their soulmate even though none of them were looking,” he said. “Maybe everything ended up this way _because_ Toph was going to be born 100 years later than me.”

Katara sighed. Aang truly was a hopeless romantic. He was deadset on Toph and, quite frankly, he might have to die to get to meet her at this point. Maybe even if Tafu wasn’t the one for him, Katara knew she was going to have to find someone to at least help Aang have some fun. Maybe have his first kiss at least. She wanted Aang to be happy.


	19. Taf? Like Tafu?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Anniversary! I've prepared four chapters instead of two for my loyal readers today :)

****“Hey, Taf? You here?” Aang attempted to use a sort of a nickname, but Sokka was right. It just sounded like Toph. He wasn’t going to do that again.

“What did you say?” Tafu said from behind him, standing in the doorway. Her shoulders were tense and her hand looked ready to bend.

And Aang didn’t really understand why she was stressed. Of course, that was because the poor boy was clueless as to who was standing in front of him. “I asked if you were here? Which obviously you are.”

“No- ugh, what did you call me?”

Aang gave her a look. “Taf? Like Tafu? Taf?”

A flood of relief rushed through her. She really should have been more careful about what name she chose to go under. It wasn’t like this was the first time it had happened. “Sorry, I just hate nicknames I guess.” It was the only excuse that would pass.

Aang slowly nodded. “Right.” There was a moment of silence between the two before Aang asked, “So how was the week alone here?”

“Kind of uneventful. I did some cleaning though so that’s pretty good.”

“You mean, your job?” Aang laughed.

Tafu smirked. “Yeah, Twinkletoes. I did some of my job. I have to say though, I have no idea if I did a good job. I haven’t been sneezing as much though so that’s a good sign.”

Aang laughed again. “Yeah, definitely. I mean, it looks better than it normally does. You probably did more work than I would have in a week.”

“It gets a little boring,” Tafu admitted. “You can throw tons of boulders around, but, at the end of the day, it’s still just throwing a bunch of boulders around.”

Aang raised an eyebrow. “You do that for fun?”

“Oh yeah. When you’re the best earth bender in the world though. For pansies like you, it’s more like Hell.” Tafu laughed.

He rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it…" He reconsidered. "Actually, would you be willing to go for another lesson or two while I’m here for the next few days? You’ll get more money and you probably need it considering it’s going to be a long while before I’m back again.”

Toph grimaced. The first lesson was fun, but she didn’t see this kid getting any better at his earthbending anytime soon. It may have just ended with one of them getting too agitated to the point of Tafu getting fired. Then again, that was kind of the end goal of Toph since she really didn’t think it was a good idea to get any more involved with these people.

“You sure you don’t just want your staff back?” She asked, nodding her head back to her room where the staff was being safely kept.

“Oh no, I definitely want my staff back. I actually don’t know how to travel without it.” He sheepishly grinned.

Tafu rolled her eyes. “Spoiled air brat. I’ll whip you into shape.”


	20. The Entire Thing Came Crashing Down

“Maybe we should try something different today.” Tafu said.

“What? Like an actual move?” Aang asked, scoffing, eyeing the staff in her hand.

Tafu smirked. “Something like that. Obviously, you just can’t unblock that earthbender part in yourself. Maybe you need direct action.” She bent herself to the top of the side of the arena, feeling a bit clumsy with a stick in her hand.

“That sounds a little scary,” He called up to her.

“Good!” She called back, dropping the staff as she drove her foot into the ground, forcing a ball of rock the size of one and half Aangs (She was very specific about how tall she wanted the sphere to be). She flattened the arena wall into a track for the rock to roll down, where it would head directly toward Aang.

Aang gulped looking at the challenge before him.

Tafu slid down the track before deciding to adjust the arena as well. She brought her arms upward, raising a wall of rock around both sides Aang, then a roof on top and a wall behind him to prevent him from running.

“I know how far you can move with your airbending. I’m not going to let you wuss out. Now, when I roll that rock down, you have to stop it with earthbending or else you’ll be squashed like a little Avatar bug.” She smirked, proud of her creation.

Aang paled; suddenly, he wasn’t too sure about Tafu’s teaching methods, but he didn’t have the chance to say anything before she punched the arena wall, forcing the boulder at the top of it to teeter before beginning to roll down the track.

Toph was on the outside of it all. She wouldn’t get to know what Aang was going to do inside that cave she made. She wouldn’t get to know until Aang trapped himself inside the cave or squashed himself. All she could do was hope he wasn’t. Or hope he was, because then she’d get a chance to sell the Avatar’s beast on the black market before he was announced missing.

Despite Toph’s predictions, however, neither of the two happened. As she watched the boulder speed down the track, she felt the pit of her stomach begin to feel sick. She raised her hand, ready to stop the boulder as soon as it entered the cave, when the entire thing came crashing down.

A crowd of dust raised, but that didn’t stop Toph from realizing Aang had panicked and left- by bending the wall away from him and landing on top of it before the rest of the cave crashed on top of him.

Aang coughed as Tafu approached him. “I’m so sorry, Sifu; I ran away from it. I just didn’t believe that I was going to be able to stop that boulder.”

“You pushed the wall down.”

He looked over at the mess. "I guess I did. Who knew I was strong enough?" 

Tafu shook her head. “No, Doofus. You bent the wall away from you. You _earthbended_.”

Aang turned back at the rubble he created. “Wow,” he laughed. “I earthbended!” He airbended himself up. “I can’t believe I did that! I’m an earthbender!”

Tafu rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile too. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Pushing a wall doesn’t make you an earthbender, but I think it means I won’t have to kill you out of frustration.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t go into the Avatar state.”

“The what?”

“The- uh, never mind. I’ll tell you another day. Can I have my glider back?"


	21. Everything Hurt

With the knowledge that he could earthbend, Aang went into training with a lot more confidence, something, Tafu told him, powered earthbending. To earthbend, you had to be strong and sturdy like a rock. There wasn’t a lot that could break a rock down.  _Except paper_ , Aang thought, snickering to himself. 

The day went by quickly. What Toph originally had hoped would only be an hour or two turned into an all-day session of getting this kid into the right stance with the correct sturdiness and unlocking the power that was inside of him. And, honestly, she didn’t even notice the time pass. She felt embarrassed that she had had fun with this kid. Sure, a lot of the day was spent basically bullying him, but she was also _teaching_ him. It was a complicated feeling.

After pushing a boulder over the line Tafu had drawn into the dirt, Aang panted, doubled over on his knees, before deciding to just collapse on his back on the ground. Everything hurt. He didn’t know how he was going to get through his diplomatic meeting when everything ached… Maybe he’d have to move it.

“Aww, are you tired?” Tafu bent over him, hands on her knees, trying to condescend him.

“Yes… And I’m afraid I can’t actually move so we’re done for the day.” Aang told her, struggling to even put his hand on top of his stomach in order to ease his breathing.

“Hm. Fine.” Toph said as she bent back up, taking a look at where the sun was in the sky. She grimaced as she noticed that it was already setting. “Dinner time!”

Aang groaned, pulling himself into a sitting position. “Is there any way you can make dinner for the both of us?”

“That’s gonna cost you extra,” Tafu told him, rubbing her thumb against her fingers to imply what she meant (which Aang would have interpreted it as money either way). 

He was really hungry and couldn’t find any effort within himself to deny her, so he just rolled his eyes and conceded. “Fine.


	22. At 20, No Less

There was a lapse in conversation for the pair when it came down to dinner. Aang sat at a bar stool, stirring the ramen Tafu had hastily put together. He wasn’t eating, not from lack of hunger or due to the food tasting bad, but rather because the odd tension in the air forced his chopsticks stuck in the bowl. Actually, the dish was pretty good. Tafu surprised him once again by being blind and still able to put together a decent meal; though, he attributed that from her years as a maid for rich people.

Across the counter, Tafu hadn’t even noticed that Aang felt awkward in their situation. She had gulped down her meal, turning around to grab seconds from the pot when she decided to ask him, “So what’s the Avatar biz like?” It was pure curiosity and she thought they were on good enough terms for them to have a real conversation.

Aang’s hand stopped mixing the noodles around. “Uh, alright?”

“You have the power of all four elements, have the ability to speak to your past lives, defeated Fire Lord Ozai, and now have to keep peace between the nations post-war and it’s _alright_?” She asked, eyebrows raised, still facing the other way.

Aang thought. “Well, I mean, it’s stressful. But I’m used to it. I don’t know. It hasn’t really been exciting in, uh, 8 years? There's the occasional rebellion I have to put out, but no where near defeating Fire Lord Ozai,” he laughed. “But really being the Avatar is just reassuring people everything is okay.”

“Is everything okay?” Tafu asked, setting her bowl back down on the counter across from him.

Aang weighed it in his head. “Sure. Definitely no Ozai on the way at least.”

“And how’s the luck with the ladies?” She asked, winking at him when he looked at her in surprise. “What? You’re telling me every chick you meet doesn’t wanna try out your, uh, glider stick?”

He paled. “Um. I’m sure there are, solely for the idea of being with the Avatar, but I’m a bit of a hopeless romantic honestly. Still waiting for my soulmate." He held up his wrist, as though Tafu would be able to read the name on it. "I’ve never even kissed anyone actually. Aside Katara in daydreams, but I was a kid then.” He laughed, embarrassed.

Tafu held up her hand. “Okay, there’s a lot to unpack from there, but I’ll hold off. You would think your soulmate would _know_ who you are and go out of their way to get to you.”

“Yeah,” Aang sighed as he rubbed the kanji on his wrist. “There’s actually a chance she’s dead. Or at least way too old. I was frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years. That’s why I’m the only airbender.”

There was a moment of silence as Tafu rubbed her temples. “I swear to the Gods, you guys are messing with me.”

Aang laughed. “Nope. The Avatar is legendary for multitude for reasons.”

Another lapse in conversation and Aang looked back down at his bowl. It was empty. He didn’t even think he had had time to eat anything while they were talking. Maybe Momo had come by. 

“Want me to wash your bowl?” She asked, holding out her hand.

“Sure.” He handed it to her and watched her walk to the sink to scrub the remnants of ramen out of the bowl.

He didn’t know Tafu too well, but it seemed uncharacteristic of her to offer to clean. Once again, it must have been her past to have trained her to be more domestic than she intended to be. In fact, it seemed that Tafu almost had an arrogant, snobby undertone to her attitude. Like, she was rich. But the girl walking around barefoot in rags she had bought off the common market definitely wasn’t rich. He’d have to make sure to ask Katara to buy Tafu some nicer clothes. She’d have a better idea on what Tafu might like than he.

“You good, Romeo?” Tafu waved a hand in front of his face, something that he found a bit ironic later on.

“Yeah. Sorry… Just thinking about my meeting tomorrow. I might have to postpone if I can’t get out of bed tomorrow,” He stammered out.

She nodded her head, paying little attention to whatever he had just said. “Right… so, I was also thinking and if I met my soulmate and he or she didn’t have any, you know, experience, I’d probably be a little pissed. Like, I gotta teach this guy now how to make me happy?”

“Right…” Aang was feeling just a bit awkward.

“So, I think you should really have some sort of fling. Like don’t get any old floozy; obviously, you can get better than that with your fame, but I don’t think having your firsts with someone else is really going to damage your future relationship.”

“What if she’s been waiting for me too?”

Tafu snorted. “Trust me, it’s 108 AG. No one’s really waiting anymore with the massive population we have to sort through. The fear of dying a virgin scares the teens into screwing at 14.”

“I don’t really think that’s-”

Tafu huffed, already fed up with his arguing. On a whim, she walked around the counter and, before he could react, she grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him. It was only a few moments before she felt heat in his cheeks and she let go of him. Toph knew the tips of her ears were probably red too and adjusted her hair to cover them. 

“I- um-” He tried saying anything.

“There, you’ve got your first kiss. At 20, no less. What an achievement,” She said sarcastically. “Now you can go wild.”

“Thank you?” He said, still not quite sure what had happened.

“Oh, you’re welcome, stud.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Somethings happened! I have the next chapter written too (nothing exciting tbh), but I am at a block now! Woohoo! Like I know what I want long term, but I'm at a stall for the very next move. So, if ya'll wanna suggest any good soulmate fics or Taang fics; feel free to suggest along with any feedback on the story! I appreciate y'all reading :)


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